GROWING
IN CHRIST-LIKENESS IS A LIFE-LONG PROCESS.
The
first 11 Chapters in the Book of Romans focuses primarily on teaching
Doctrine.
(WHAT)
Chapter
12 begins an exhortation on how to live out the Christian Faith (HOW)
Candid
Camera
First
episode in 1948. It ran through the 1970’s. Allen Funt presented
people in the “Act of being themselves”.
(THEME)
Can
you imagine how most folks felt when shown a clip of themselves in
the…. “Act of being themselves?” What emotions do you think
they felt?
Embarrassed….Sad….Pain….Shamed….Humiliated?
So
think about…What practices are currently a part of your life that
CONFORM
to worldly patterns?
SO
MANY OF THE WORLDLY PATTERNS AND PRACTICES today….are just evil and
not of Our LORD!
Abandonment
of Christ and
the Church, Corruption
in Politics,
Corruption
in Business,
Corruption
in the media,
Immoral
behavior
in and outside of marriage, Riots,
Destruction
of government and personal property,
and on…..
We
have a CHOICE…..CONFORM
to the world…OR…Be TRANSFORMED!!!
Today’s
Scripture lesson is about how we must TRANSFORM our LIFE and
BEHAVIOR…. to be CHRIST-LIKE!
An
outline of Romans Chapter 12
would look like this:
-Romans
12:1-3 Be Transformed!
-Romans
12:4-8 One Body, Many Members
-Romans
12-9-13 How to Love
Last
weeks Study WAS in Chapter 11, THE LAST VERSE…Vs 36 concluded by
saying:
”For
of Him and through Him and to Him are all
things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.”
1ST….ABOUT
BEING TRANSFORMED:
Chapter
12 begins:
“I
beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the
mercies of God”
What
is mercy?
Isn’t Mercy… the act of not being given punishment that is
deserved?
Consider….What
does it mean to present your body as a living sacrifice?
God
wants us to offer ourselves….NOT
animals…. as a living sacrifice! He wants us daily to put aside our
own desires and follow HIM.
WE
are to do this out of gratitude
that our sins have been forgiven through Jesus Christ!
We
are being called upon to Be: FAITHFUL….AVAILABLE….TEACHABLE
Believers. Yes, we are to be FAT
Christians. WHY…?
-1st,
GOD so loved the world that He gave His only SON….Jesus
-2nd,
Jesus gave His Life for us that we might have Life with HIM
-3rd,
In
John
10:28-30
Jesus promised….
“And
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall
anyone snatch them out of my hand. My Father, Who has given them to
Me, is greater than all;
and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My
Father are one.”
And…..THIS
GIFT IS “IRREVOCABLE”:
“NOT
able to be changed, reversed, or recovered, FINAL”
2ND….ONE
BODY, MANY MEMBERS
We
are called to SERVE
GOD with our Spiritual Gifts:
-Paul
uses an analogy of the Human Body to teach HOW we are to live and
work together….UNDER the direction of the Brain….Our Lord Jesus!
-He
states that just as the body has different parts that perform
different functions….we too are with different gifts….but are to
work in unison as ONE BODY!
Paul
says
that we should have healthy SELF-ESTEEM
because some of us think too little of ourselves.
Paul
also states
that we should not OVER-ESTIMATE
ourselves.
-We
are to think “Soberly”,
as God has dealt to each a measure of Faith
Soberly
= ”in a serious, sensible, and solemn manner.”
God
has blessed us with GIFTS
so we can build up HIS Church:
-We
have a responsibility
to use these Gifts effectively
-So
we must:
1)
Realize
that ALL
gifts and abilities come from God
2)
Understand
that not everyone has the same gifts
3)
Know
who we are and what we do best
4)
Dedicate
our gifts to GOD’S SERVICE
5)
Use
our GIFTS WHOLEHEARTEDLY
It
would be very difficult…..
for one person to embody ALL the GIFTS God has blessed us
individually with!
As
you identify your GIFT or GIFTS…..Pray
and ask GOD to build you up to use your GIFT wisely….to Honor HIM
and to help grow HIS Church!
Be
THANKFUL
for the people that GOD surrounds you with ….whose
GIFTS are completely different than your own.
2
Corinthians 5:20……”We
are AMBASSADORS
for Christ,
as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s
behalf, be reconciled to GOD.”
-Reconciled
= “Restore friendly relations…Cause to coexist in harmony”
-We
can ALL ask ourselves…..How
well are we fulfilling our commission?
-We
are to represent NOT what the world thinks or says….BUT
to represent Jesus as HIS AMBASSADOR
-An
AMBASSADOR is charged with representing NOT what they think….BUT
what the leadership instructs them to represent!
-Jesus,
through the BIBLE, has provided us with CLEAR instructions!
3rd….ABOUT
HOW TO LOVE
Behave
like a Christian
VS
9….”Let LOVE
be without Hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil.
Cling to what is good.”
-That
pretty much sums it ALL up.
-HYPOCRISY
= “Practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which
one’s own behavior does not conform.”
Vs
12….”rejoicing in hope,
patient in tribulation,
continuing steadfastly in Prayer.”
-HOPE
= “A feeling of EXPECTATION”
As
Believers we have HOPE through Jesus
-TRIBULATION
= “A cause of great trouble or suffering”
2020
has bought on an enormous AMOUNT of tribulation
-PRAYER
= “A devout petition to GOD”
HE
LISTENS TO THE SINCERE DEVOUT PRAYERS WE LIFT UP!
Psalm
54:2 “Hear
my Prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth.”
Psalm
66:20 “Blessed
be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me.”
James
5:16 “Confess
your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you
may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man
avails much.”
Dr.
David Jeremiah……In Concluding a service last
week… at his Church in El Cajon California …..For encouragement
as we live through very difficult times today….CONSIDER
as we enter into HEAVEN:
- Look forward to a rousing welcome
- Look forward to a rich reward
- Look forward to a resurrected body
- Look forward to a renewed assignment
- Look forward to a royal throne
- Look forward to a rapturous reunion
- Look forward to a RISEN SAVIOR!
REVELATION
22 Then
the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as
clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the
Lamb 2 down
the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river
stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding
its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing
of the nations. 3 No
longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the
Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They
will see his face, and his name will be on their
foreheads. 5 There
will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or
the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And
they will reign for ever and ever.
No comments:
Post a Comment